Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Just to be clear- Any safe zone idea that has previously emanated from the US has always been a negative for both Turkey and Syria- I’ve discussed this previously here at the blog on more then one occasion. Therefore I've little reason to think a so called safe zone under the Trump administration would be any different..

"Turkey has long advocated creating a safe zone in the border region," said Faruk Logoglu, Turkey's former ambassador to the United States referring to the area where Ankara has conducted its Operation Euphrates Shield."However, if Trump announces that he wants to create a safe zone in the entire northern Syria, Turkey will face major problems."

"The majority of Syrian refugees are in Turkey. They have also settled in Jordan and Iraq. Clearly the stance of these countries on safe zones in Syria matters, but Turkey's take on the issue is of key importance. However, we have not seen Turkey and the [Trump administration] discuss this issue. Turkey's Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling for a thorough and comprehensive review of this issue and its potential implications. This was a right step, but it has shown that Ankara and Washington have not conducted official direct talks on Trump's initiative," the diplomat observed.

The diplomat also warned that Trump's plan could affect the Geneva peace process. This initiative could to a certain extent "embolden" the opposition, offering an opportunity to delay the talks. Should this happen, "all achievement reached at the Astana talks could be brought to nothing," he said.

de Mistura: He explained that the delay of UN-supported intra-Syrian talks would give time for the ceasefire to solidify, give the Government a chance to consider concessions, and give a chance for the armed groups to come as “one unified opposition.”

Yesterday President Trump spoke to leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about the creation of “safe zones”—areas of protection for individuals displaced by the conflicts in Syria and perhaps also in Yemen. According to Politico, President Trump “requested, and the [Saudi] king agreed to support, safe zones in Syria and Yemen.”

Nevertheless,
the hurdles to creating “safe zones” are significant. Some already
have identified policy resistance within the Defense Department, which
the White House has ordered (along with the State Department) to produce
a plan for safe zones by the end of April. Lawmakers also likely are
not enthused about deploying more U.S. troops on the ground in the
Middle East, something a safe zone likely would entail. Yet others have
worked through how international humanitarian law treats safe zonesand raised a variety of practical questions to ask and resolve before deciding whether and how to proceed.

But none of these actors have noted the serious problem that could arise under the U.N. Charter if the United States or other states tried to establish these safe zones inside Syria without Assad’s consent. I wrote about this previously when the idea of creating a “buffer zone” over a part of northern Syria was on the table in 2014. If the basic idea this time around is to take over a small part of Syria’s territory to create a protected zone into which refugees could come and be safe from the violence, the states creating the safe zone will almost surely run afoul of the prohibition on the use of force under Charter article 2(4) unless they have Assad’s consent. Taking control of part of another state’s territory in this context—even for purely humanitarian purposes—is very difficult to justify under a self-defense theory, particularly where the safe zone is not immediately adjacent to the fighting with ISIS. And although the U.N. Security Council conceivably could decide to establish such a zone under Chapter VII over Assad’s objection, Russia surely would veto such a resolution.

Thus, those crafting options for the President should push hard for plans that either create safe zones consensually on the territory of Syria’s neighbors (e.g., Turkey) or that extract consent for the zones from Assad (with the strong urging of Russia, perhaps). Indeed, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has said that safe zones might be possible, but only with Assad’s consent.
The United States should pursue one of these alternate avenues rather than trying to establish a safe zone in Syria without such consent.

One of these alternative avenues? So establish a safe zone in Syria with Assad’s consent?OR... Create a ‘consensual’ safe zone in Turkey? And if neither Turkey or Syria consent?I certainly don't expect Turkey to consent. Syria? Depending on outside pressure? Maybe? Maybe not?

SDF is mostly YPG/PKK so I'm not including the absolute nonsense about this supply going to the Arabs portion of SDF which is just a veneer to cover up US cooperation with PKK terrorists

SDF spokesman Talal Silo said the delivery of
the armored vehicles marked a significant improvement in U.S. support
and attributed the change to the new administration. Trump says
eradicating Islamic State will be one of his biggest priorities."Previously
we didn't get support in this form, we would get light weapons and
ammunition," Silo told Reuters. "There are signs of full support from
the new American leadership -- more than before -- for our forces."

EUPHRATES DAM STILL IN ISLAMIC STATE HANDS

The U.S. strategy towards fighting Islamic State in Syria has generated tension with NATO ally Turkey

The Kurdish military source said the third phase
would focus on capturing remaining areas, including the road between
Raqqa city and Deir al-Zor. Cutting off Raqqa city from IS strongholds
in Deir al-Zor would be a major blow against the group.

The shipment was confirmed by Pentagon spokesman John Dorrian, who said it was made "using
existing authorities, in the interest of helping protect our partnered
force from the (IS) improvised-explosive device threat."

The
Pentagon also said that plans to deliver the vehicles pre-dated the
Trump administration, but were a sign of its renewed commitment to
defeaating IS, which the new US President promised as part of his
campaign.

And not only are their appearance strikingly similar- Their stories share an almost uncanny sameness..

The trial of Dylann Roof was commencing, eighteen months after he shot and killed
nine African-American congregants at the Emanuel African Methodist
Episcopal Church

Dylann Roof killed in a church, house of worship, and so did the privileged white Bissonnette!

The 27-year-old entered the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec and
opened fire with a rifle, shooting members of the mosque as they prayed,
police and witnesses say.

A second man, Mohamed el Khadir,
was previously identified by authorities as a suspect. He was taken
into custody near the mosque and questioned, but Quebec Provincial
Police said in a tweet Monday afternoon that he is no longer considered to be a suspect. He is now being called a witness.

Bissonnette

Bissonnette kills all these people, gets away and then calls the police?

About 17 minutes after the first call of shots fired at the mosque, Alexandre Bissonnette, called 911 to police he felt guilty about what he had done, La Presse reports.
Bissonnette, a 27-year-old Quebec native, told the 911 dispatcher he
was going to shoot himself. About 8:45 p.m., he told police he wanted to
be arrested.
“He was armed and spoke to us about his acts,” Quebec City Police Inspector Denis Turcotte told the Montreal Gazette. “He seemed to want to co-operate. … The suspect said he was waiting for the police to arrive.”
Police have not yet released details about the suspect’s motive for
the shooting. He was interrogated after being taken into custody and
police are still investigating what led to the attack.

A source told Radio-Canada
that Bissonnette is a student at Université Laval, a French-language,
public college in Quebec City. There are about 28,500 undergraduate
students and 8,500 graduate students attending the school.

All neatly wrapped up in about 16 hours time- wow! Repeating memes aid in catapulting the propaganda-- Yes, people died. But exactly who shot them is the real question- Since all shooters were identified as being masked..

- How could this incident be immediately labelled as a terror attack?- Why not some shooter/s on psychiatric meds run amok? Temporary insanity? How about just calling it a crime?- So the quickness the ‘terror act” label was used is suspicious- The claim this is "against Muslims"- Is of course, identity politics and was chosen specifically for this presentation- Why not "against Canada"? Against "recent immigrants"?-Instead we are getting "against Muslims" This suggests to me a specific card is going to be played very soon- it's called the 'shame on all of you card" Linked to the bad Donald Trump meme that was going around all week end.Trump's Refugee Ban is Actually Obama’s Refugee Ban...- And that's another interesting point- the timing of this incident?- Cue the tolerance speeches?

Gunmen attacked a suburban Quebec City mosque as worshipers were
finishing their prayers Sunday night, killing six people and wounding
more than a dozen others — a horrific assault that government officials
immediately labeled a terrorist act.

“The shooting is a
particular shock for Quebec City, a quiet white-collar city that
reportedjust two murders in all of 2015. The metropolitan area has
about 806,000 people”

Just two murders in all of 2015

My first thought this morning. Guns aren’t readily available in Canada.
They aren’t readily accessible. There isn’t nearly the same level of gun
ownership here in Canada as in the US. Of course there is the
illegal/blackmarket gun market-

A spokeswoman for the Sûreté du Québec, the Quebec provincial police, said that two suspects had been arrested.

Two suspects have been arrested and absolutely nothing has been released
about them- No names as of early this morning. Nothing. And this
took place hours ago. Presumably the suspects were arrested hours ago also?(There is presently news about the suspects, from about 25 minutes ago present time 10:15 est. I will post that update at the bottom)

"Police provided no possible motive as they launched their investigation"

No names. No motive- But it's known to be terrorism against Muslims?

"But government officials wasted no time calling it an act of terrorism"

Trudeau the selfie PM took to twitter to immediately call this terrorism

outside the crime scene

Police in Quebec City say that at least two suspects are in custody following a mass shooting Sunday evening that targeted people who were praying at a local mosque.

Of course our selfie/narcissist PM took to social media to spread the official narrative

The Canadian prime minister quickly took to social media to express his condolences.

"Tonight, Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a
mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their
families," Justin Trudeau tweeted.

Witnesses said at least two gunmen in hoods or ski masks opened fire on congregants

Earlier reports claimed three shooters- where did the third shooter go?

One of the suspects was arrested 14 miles east of the mosque along the shore of the St. Lawrence River on the approach to a bridge leading to the Island of Orleans. The bridge was closed by authorities. The second suspect was arrested close to the mosque, according to police, who have not publicly identified the suspects.

On suspect was picked up 14 miles or approximately 22-23 kilometres away from the mosque. At what time? How long from shooting to arrest? Other reports have the suspect phoning police to give himself up.

“While describing the attack as terrorism, authorities did not say by whom and for what motive. Nor did they describe the ethnicity or religious identity, if any, of the perpetrators. That left open a wide variety of possibilities, including anti-Muslims or Muslims”

So Trudeau and company have this billed and are in the process of selling this incident as terrorism- with no names- no motives- no identification of perps- Curiously all this comes hot on the heels of the executive order being signed regarding the Trump/Obama Refugee

“Still, the context of the attack was inescapable, coming after a rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric, behavior and vandalism in both the U.S. and Canada and amid a heated debate over President Trump’s executive order temporarily shutting U.S. borders to refugees and migrants from seven mostly Muslim countries”

It appears our perceptions are being manipulated yet again.Do I believe people died. As of right now? Absolutely yes!Do I find the timing very suspect? You betThe missing shooter suspect? YupThe immediate claim of terrorism suspect? Oh yah!The disgraceful promotion by selfie PM suspect- Definitely spoon feeding the desired narrative out to the world- Trudeau should not jump to conclusions, until this investigation has at least cleared up some of what happened and why?

According
to Radio-Canada and LCN, the two suspects in Sunday’s terror attacks on
a mosque in Quebec City are Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed Khadir. One
of the suspects was arrested at the scene, while a second called 911
himself and was arrested around 9 p.m., just over an hour after the
first 911 calls came in at 7:55 p.m., police said Monday morning during a
news conference involving the Sûreté du Québec, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, Quebec City police and Montreal police.

The
suspects, men in their late 20s and early 30s, were not known to police
and the investigation into a possible motive continues, said
superintendent Martin Plante of the RCMP’s C Division. He would not
confirm the identity of the victims.

“We must respect the
judicial process, we cannot reveal suspects’ identities yet,” he said,
adding that it was still too early to determine what charges the
suspects in the case will face.

Only after the suspects appear in court to face the charges can their identities be released.

There are reports of the gun being an AK-47. There are reports that the suspect arrested near the bridge called police and wanted to cooperate.. Looking to clear his name? Interesting?

I am publishing this post at approximately 11:10 am est- I've been reading news since 8:00am
There will be updates later as more information becomes available- unlike the narcissist PM I will exclude nothing- Terrorism? Perhaps? Possibly even State Sponsored Terrorism

In fact it (JTF2)was deployed within Canada twice in the past year – to safeguard the Vancouver Olympics and the G8/G20 summits, where the elite soldiers lurked unobtrusively in sites surrounding events.

• Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed El Khadir were in police custody
after masked gunmen entered a mosque on Sainte-Foy St. and opened fire
during evening prayers around 7:45 p.m. Sunday. By noon, only one of
them was considered a suspect, police said.

• There’s no evidence to suggest the suspects worked with a larger
terrorist organization, according to an inspector with the Sûreté du
Québec.

Home grown then? Are we going to getthe usual lone wolf account? Will it be the Arab sounding named suspect? Will it be Mr Pure laine?If they go with Pure Laine- Bisonnette, are we going to get that public shaming from Trudeau?

Ban for 30 days all “immigrant and
nonimmigrant” entry of individuals from countries designated in Division
O, Title II, Section 203 of the 2016 consolidated appropriations act:
Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.These countries
were targeted last year in restrictions on dual nationals’ and recent travelers’ participation in the visa waiver program.

"Thursday’s announcement is an expansion of a law passed late last year,
which revoked the visa-waiver status of people who had recently
traveled to Iraq, Syria, Iran or Sudan,and who hold dual citizenship
with any of those four countries"

The Obama administration expanded on a previous law.. to include Iraq, Syria, Iran and Sudan. Libya, Somalia and Yemen were already included.

Understand? The Obama administration's 2015 Waiver Program set the parameters for the Trump Bill.

Obama signed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act as part of an omnibus spending bill. The legislation restricted access to the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens from 38 countries who are visiting the United States for less than 90 days to enter without a visa.

On January 21, the U.S. State Department began implementing changes to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. Citizens
of 38 countries, including many E.U. states, do not need visas to
travel to the United States. But the new measure bars citizens of those
countries who are also dual nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan
from participating in the program. Those who have travelled to those
four countries since 2011 also cannot participate, according to some
interpretations.

The change was first proposed by Congress to make it more difficult
for terrorists who hold E.U. or other citizenships to enter the United
States. House Resolution 158 passed 407 to 19 on December 8.

Though outside groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and NIAC Action
— the sister organization of the National Iranian American Council —
opposed the act, the bipartisan bill passed through Congress with little
pushback.

At the initial signing of the restrictions, foreigners who would
normally be deemed eligible for a visa waiver were denied if they had
visited Iran, Syria, Sudan or Iraq in the past five years or held dual
citizenship from one of those countries.

In February 2016, the Obama administration added Libya, Somali and Yemen
to the list of countries one could not have visited — but allowed dual
citizens of those countries who had not traveled there access to the
Visa Waiver Program. Dual citizens of Syria, Sudan, Iraq and Iran are
still ineligible, however.

So, in a nutshell, Obama restricted visa waivers for those seven
Muslim-majority countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and
Yemen — and now, Trump is looking to bar immigration and visitors from
the same list of countries.

When this passed under Obama, it was passed quietly- However when Trump passes a bill based on the Obama administrations previous laws it's a big deal? Why? I feel this frenzy is being whipped up by the media to create division and diversion.

Trumps executive order also tasks the secretary of defense to draft a plan for the establishment of safe zones in Syria...

Establish “safe zones to protect
vulnerable Syrian populations.” The executive order tasks the secretary
of defense with drafting a plan for safe zones in Syria within 90 days.This would be be an escalation of U.S. involvement in Syria and could be
the first official indication of how Trump will approach the conflict
there.

Greece’s defence ministry has confirmed seven military personnel and one civilian landed in a Blackhawk military helicopter in Alexandroupoli and requested asylum.

Greek authority's gave direct permission to the helicopters crew to approach the airport and provided all relevant meteorological information and the runway in use. At the same time, two Greek fighter jets took off to accompany the Black Hawk.

Therefore it is not a surprise that Greece will NOT turn the coup plotters over for trial in Turkey. They can make excuses, but, they are only excuses. Greece was complicit and will protect the coup plotters, themselves and the wider NATO alliance.The latest on the refusal to extradite:

Greece's Supreme Court ruled against the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece ( escorted by Greek military) in July after a failed coup attempt in Turkey, a decision which angered Ankara and further strained relations between the two neighbors.

The men -- three majors, three captains and two sergeant-majors -- landed a helicopter in northern Greece on July 16 and sought political asylum saying they feared for their lives in Turkey.

Once again Greece, an ally and a neighbor, has failed to fulfill the basics of the fight against terrorism," it said.

"The impact of this decision thought to be made with political motives on our mutual ties, our cooperation in the fight against terrorism and our work on other mutual and regional issues will be subject to a comprehensive review."

But hey they’ll look good- and that’s all that matters, right?😲 Yup, bruised, sliced, degraded, old, lacking nutrition apples- but you’ll never know.Cause they’ll be as white as the arctic snow - Which is why they are called “Arctic Apples”Vote with your dollar and don’t buy them!

A small amount of Arctic brand sliced and packaged Golden Delicious apples, produced by Okanagan Specialty Fruits in British Columbia, Canada, will hit the shelves of 10 stores in the Midwest in February and March, Neal Carter, the company’s founder and president, told the agricultural news website Capital Press. Arctic’s website lists the apples as being available early this year in some test markets.

the logo to look for?

Carter said Midwestern stores were the first choice because they seemed like a good fit demographically and in size. He wouldn’t name the stores, stating it’s up to retailers to announce that they’ll be selling the non-browning apples.

Nearly two years ago, the US Department of Agriculture approved the US’s first genetically modified apples.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service granted its approval based on “a final plant pest risk assessment that finds the GE (genetically engineered) apples are unlikely to pose a plant pest risk to agriculture and other plants in the United States … [and] deregulation is not likely to have a significant impact on the human environment,” as stated in their report. (Grade A bovine excrement)

I had heirloom tomato seeds saved for years and years, carefully and lovingly selected and saved. Until a neighbour planted a hybrid cherry tomato and it crossed in one season with my heirlooms. Contamination will happen- The USDA is full of sh*t. So much can go wrong, the USDA is full of sh*t-

“There’s nothing technically wrong with an apple that browns. (in the short term there isn't)

It all comes down to oxygen being introduced into plant tissue when an apple is sliced, bruised or bitten”

If you eat the apple immediately- It’s all good- However these GMO apples can have oxygen introduced into them via a bruise or small wound in the skin and they will not brown/rot..

While the apple may be white, it will still be degrading. (To lower in quality or value; To undergo degradation; decompose) Loosing it's nutritional value- that's what keeps you healthy people- good nutrition! I would expect this company has studied this which is why they are not touting the nutritional value of these apples as a selling point.

Rotting/Decaying is one of many visual cues we understand. Visual Cues are a non verbal form of communication that informs you about the nutritional quality and safety of consuming this or any food.

Just as you take visual communication cues from other living beings, unless your abilities are so degraded from interacting with a glowing screen, you take take the same types of cues from putrefying meats and rotting vegetables

“Arctic® apples aren’t slow browning. They aren’t low browning. They’re nonbrowning! By silencing the enzyme that causes apples to brown when bitten, sliced or bruised (damaged) popular apple varieties like Golden Delicious and Granny Smith can be enhanced with the Arctic Advantage™.

It's just silencing one enzyme that's all folks, as if that one enzyme is in a vacuum and not interacting with other chemical components of the fruit in a system known as "apple"How out of touch are we with our food? Apparently very!

Our goal? To help consumers eat more apples by making them more convenient, and reducing food waste while we’re at it!”

Convenient apples for busy lifestyles- oh really?!

Their real goal?- Make lots and lots of money as their GMO apple proliferates, among the superficial masses who think looks are everything- and contaminates other plants- Food control.

Put some lemon juice on your apples and/or eat them fresh!- Food is about nutrition and health- deal with it! The fresher, the better.From earlier:

Government representatives from Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Israel plan to meet in February to discuss a natural gas pipeline from the east Mediterranean fields to Greece and Italy, according to a report in Globes, a business daily.

An EU-sponsored survey last year found the 2,000-km pipeline would cost $5.7bn. The project will connect the Israeli Leviathan gas field, the offshore Cypriot Aphrodite gas field and possibly other gas fields to buyers in southern Europe.

A map on the European Commision's website shows a line starting east of Cyprus and running to Crete and from there up the west coast of mainland Greece to the Adriatic and then to Italy.

Pipeline route - Cyprus via Crete to Greece and on to Italy- Israel

The pipeline would have a 12bn m³/yr capacity and the idea is for the project to be built by private-sector companies without public funding (lie, the public funds the wars that make the areas usable..), although with the moral support of the European Union.

There is always public funding for big oil. What the heck does everyone think the carbon tax is really about?

Gas experts, however, are not convinced that the project can be achieved. An Israeli expert who was asked about the project's feasibility said the chances were zero as the project cost calculations were far too low and the project is just a PR stunt.

I've read this elsewhere also- unsure of the actual reserves- high, high costs. But there is all that public funding (debt enslavement) tohelp keep costs down- for big oil

Russian oil major Rosneft has also talked about piping gas from Egypt to Europe, an idea unlikely to meet with the same degree of support from the European Commission given the strong position Russia already holds in gas supplies. Egypt's own gas demand is also growing.

A key part of ensuring secure and affordable (?) supplies of energy to
Europeans involves diversifying supply routes. This includes identifying
and building new routes that decrease the dependence of EU countries on
a single supplier of natural gas and other energy resources.

Israel and Cyprus have launched a new push for EU funds to build a
pipeline that could bring about 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of their
natural gas to Europe annually, and ease the continent’s energy security
anxieties.

But Palestinians are warning that without a broader
resolution of regional disputes, the pipeline risks becoming a source of
conflict.

The Cyprus-centred project could be the world’s longest pipeline if built, stretching up to 1,530km, and passing through depths of up to 3,000m.

The Israeli energy minister, Silvan Shalom, raised the issue at a
ministerial conference in Rome last week and held talks on the margins
with the EU’s vice president for energy union, Maros Sefkovic, Israeli
sources say.

Israel, Greece and Cyprus expect a formal meeting with
Sefkovic to discuss ways of actualising the project, on the fringes of
an EU energy ministers’ summit on 9 December.
“The three countries involved intend to raise this issue [on the 9th]
as it involves funding from the commission,” an EU diplomat said.
Israel, as a non-EU member, will depend on its partner countries’ powers
of persuasion.

With energy diversification and security both rising up Europe’s
political agenda, “it looks like the stars have aligned in one position
now and that might be good for our timing,” Guy Feldman, an advisor to
Shalom told the Guardian.

But the Palestinian Authority cautioned the EU against signing any
contract until territorial gas disputes with neighbouring countries such
as Lebanon were resolved.
“The objective of energy security starts with a clear cut boundary of
all the gas fields,” said the PA’s energy minister, Omar Kettaneh.
“Otherwise instead of being a source of security the pipeline will be a
source of conflict.”

In 2010, the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the Levant
Basin, could hold more than 3,455bcm of gas, which is comparable to
Iraq’s reserves.

But until now, political instability has hindered its exploitation, with Israeli and Cypriot claims to overlapping gas fields contested by Lebanon and Turkey, respectively.
In 2012, Israel, Cyprus and Greece signed a deal to promote exports
of their gas to the EU through an eastern Mediterranean corridor.

The planned offshore pipeline, which diplomats say could transport
between 8-15bcm of natural gas annually, has already been selected for “project of common interest” status by the EU. This potentially gives it access to a €5.85bn fund, and preferential treatment from multilateral banks.

That's how the EU claims the funding is "private" the funding is done through the banksters with the people on the hook for repayment

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

President Donald
Trump is expected to order the Pentagon and State Department to produce a
plan in coming days for setting up “safe zones” for refugees in Syria
and neighboring countries, according to a document seen by Reuters, a
move that could risk escalation of U.S. military involvement in Syria’s
civil war.

The draft
executive order awaiting Trump’s signature signaled the new
administration was preparing a step that Trump’s predecessor Barack
Obama long resisted, fearing the potential for being pulled deeper into
the conflict and the threat of clashes between U.S. and Russian
warplanes over Syria

"The
Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, is
directed within 90 days of the date of this order to produce a plan to
provide safe areas in Syria and in the surrounding region in which
Syrian nationals displaced from their homeland can await firm
settlement, such as repatriation or potential third-country
resettlement,"the draft order said.

Creation
of safe zones, if Trump decides to do so, could ratchet up U.S.
military involvement in Syria and mark a major departure from Obama’s
approach. If Trump decided to enforce “no fly” restrictions over such
areas, it would require increased U.S. or allied air power. It could
also demand some type of ground forces to provide security.Still,
the document gave no details on what would constitute a safe zone,
exactly where they might be set up and who would defend them. Jordan,
Turkey and other neighboring countries already host millions of Syrian
refugees.

UPDATE BEGINS:

When I posted the above item, yesterday, the news was literally ten minutes old- It seems in the last several hours Mr Trump has confirmed the report:

“The safe zone mandate was tucked into the text of a draft version of a
White House executive order, which bans refugees from Iraq, Syria,
Libya, Yemen and other conflict zones from emigrating to the United
States,” the Washington Times reported on Wednesday.

Jared Kushner’s name has been scrubbed from the national board of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, apparently following questions from the press about his continued involvement in the group.

Ha’aretz had asked Kushner’s spokesman about his affiliation to the organization, given President Donald Trump’s desire that his son-in-law help him negotiate Middle East peace in his new role as senior White House adviser. Kushner’s links to FIDF might have clouded his ability to seem an honest broker between the two parties.

Despite Kushner’s withdrawal, FIDF is still a pet cause of his family, influential Orthodox Jews who own a tristate area real estate empire. According to Ha’aretz, the foundation of his parents Charles and Seryl Kushner has donated $325,000 to the organization through the years.

Far from the palm-fringed beaches of the usual offshore tax havens, Canada has quietly become a go-to destination for international tax cheats eager to exploit the country's twin benefits of a sterling reputation and rules that allow private companies to keep their ownership secret.

One of Canada's advantages as a tax haven is the fact it doesn't have a
reputation as a tax haven, unlike the Cayman Islands, for example.

A joint investigation by CBC/Radio-Canada and the Toronto Star has found dozens of cases where tax advisers around the world are touting shell companies in Canada as a way to help mask a client's assets and business dealings.

While Canada prides itself on being a law-abiding country (lol)with a rigorous regulatory regime, several factors are making the country ripe for the kinds of machinations normally found in offshore tax havens:

- Federally and provincially incorporated companies don't have to register the names of their real owners and operators. Instead, they can list figurehead directors who often do nothing more than provide their names on paperwork.

-A certain type of company allowed in some provinces, known as a limited partnership, doesn't have to pay tax in Canada if its owners don't live here.

- Canada's clean reputation in the global financial world means corporations registered here are less likely to attract attention from the prying eyes of governments, law enforcement and tax authorities abroad.

'Snow washing'

Unlike a tax haven where the wealthy park their fortunes, Canada is used as a place to develop a cover story, complete with a paper trail, to hide where cash actually gets moved.

"Because you got this entity that's in Canada, banks or other parties in other countries are going to presume that it's legitimate and OK because it's Canadian — pure as the driven snow of the Great White North … they are trying to pretend that it's Canadian when it's really not."

Banks are the greatest money laundering operations- globally

Jonathan Garbutt.

The country's role in offshore tax schemes is the latest revelation to emerge from the Panama Papers, the massive leak of data from a Panamanian law firm that was obtained by German journalists in 2015 and shared with select global media outlets through the U.S.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

'Operacion Canada'

Records from the leak show law firm Mossack Fonseca promoted Canada as a "good place to create tax planning structures to minimize taxes" and charged offshore clients thousands of dollars to set them up with shell companies.

Normally, any corporation based in Canada would have to pay tax on its income, but a Mossack Fonseca managing director wrote a pair of emails to colleagues in August 2010 describing a way shell companies get around this.

"Every single year, [they] just submit the annual return and annual income declaration with false information, just writing that the Canada company DID NOT HAVE ACTIVITIES,"he wrote.

"In other words, they cheat a bit ... It is impossible for the Canada revenue governmental system to look into such information for every single company."

This exact tax-dodge scheme, employing a Quebec-registered shell company, was sold to a South American mining firm in 2012 to help its owners avoid taxes, according to Mossack Fonseca's internal records.

In fall 2012, the CEO of AK Drilling International SA flew to Panama to meet lawyers with Mossack Fonseca, also known as Mossfon, to discuss moving money out of its Peru operations to its parent company's accounts in Switzerland.

"We want to investigate the legalization of … payment through a Mossfon-managed consultancy services contract," AK Drilling International CEO Steve Petrovich wrote in an email.

After the meeting, Mossack Fonseca launched what it called in internal correspondence "Operacion Canada 2012." At its core were two wire transfers.

The first, in December 2012, involved AK Drilling International wiring $700,000 from Peru to a Mossack Fonseca trust company in the Bahamas. Mossack Fonseca deducted a nine per cent commission and wired the remaining $637,000 to AK Drilling International's accounts in Zurich.

Then, in the following months, Mossack Fonseca employees created what they referred to in emails as a "story" to "justify" the money transfers, fabricating email threads, contracts and invoices between a variety of shell companies.

By April 2013, Mossack Fonseca put the finishing touches on the story by creating a phony invoice for close to $700,000 from 9203-9619 Quebec Inc. for "fees for research on strategy implementation, distribution and marketing procedures." The firm backdated that invoice to December 2012, when the money actually moved to Switzerland.

The elaborate arrangement hid how AK Drilling International shifted its money overseas by creating the illusion it wound up in Quebec. But the Quebec shell company didn't report the $700,000 as income, and there's no evidence in the Panama Papers that tax was paid on the money in either Peru or Canada.

The Panama Papers contain 16 other nearly identical contracts from 9203-9619 Quebec Inc. tied to $3.1 million in business with other companies in South America.

Mark Morris, an independent tax consultant based in Zurich, says many companies are making the switch.

"It's like the ultimate tax haven entity in the world," he said. "Everyone loves Canadian [limited partnerships] because they're not viewed as a tax haven."

The website of a Polish firm says "the main difficulty in using an offshore company is often the negative exotic image presented when the company is created on a remote island. This is not the case in Canada."

More difficult to get a library card

Forensic accountant Peter Dent of the watchdog group Transparency International Canada said he often hits a wall when trying to trace these kinds of money trails because of the anonymity permitted by Canada's corporate registries.

Peter Dent

He said police and tax authorities run into the same problem.

"Anonymous companies or shell companies afford a person the ability to do just that. We know that Canada is one of the most opaque jurisdictions, globally, in terms of identifying corporate ownership."

Dent wants an overhaul of the country's corporate registries.

"It's more onerous to get a library card in Canada, in terms of having to be able to prove who you are."

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

A general view shows Israel's border fence with Egypt's Sinai peninsula
(R), as seen from Israel's Negev Desert February 10, 2016.
REUTERS

"Israel on Tuesday
advised its citizens in Egypt's insurgency-hit Sinai peninsula to leave
the region, warning of the threat of an imminent attack.

Israeli
holidaymakers are often warned of the risks they face in Sinai, which
borders Israel, but the "Level 1" alert issued by the anti-terrorism
directorate is its most severe warning.

It described the threat as "very high and concrete".

"The
directorate warns of the possibility of attacks against tourist sites
in the Sinai area in the immediate term," a statement said.

The anti-terrorism directorate said that while
there was a "constant high threat" in Sinai, Jan. 25, the anniversary of
the 2011 revolution in Egypt, was a day that had witnessed attacks in
previous years"

An attack or a false flag perpetuated by Israel? A good day to launch a pre-emptive move?

In a joint statement issued following the talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey reiterated that there is no military solution to the Syrian war and that only a political process can resolve the crisis.

The states also reaffirmed their commitment to the independence and territorial integrity of Syria.

Following is the full text of the statement:

JOINT STATEMENT BY IRAN, RUSSIA, TURKEY ON THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON SYRIA, IN ASTANA, JANUARY 23-24th, 2017

The delegations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, in line with the Joint Statement of their Foreign Ministers made in Moscow, on December 20, 2016 and the UN Security Council resolution 2336;

Support launching the talks between the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the armed opposition groups in Astana on January 23 24, 2017;

Appreciate the participation in and facilitation of the above-mentioned talks by the UN Secretary-General Special Envoy on Syria;

Reaffirm their commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, non-sectarian and democratic State, as confirmed by the UN Security Council;

Express their conviction that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and that it can only be solved through a political process based on the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 2254 in its entirety;

Will seek, through concrete steps and using their influence over the parties, consolidation of the ceasefire regime established pursuant to the arrangements signed on December 29, 2016 and supported by the UN Security Council resolution 2336 (2016), contribution to minimizing violations, reducing violence, building confidence, ensuring unhindered humanitarian access swiftly and smoothly in line with the UN Security Council resolution 2165 (2014) and protection and free movement of civilians in Syria;

Decide to establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire;

Reiterate their determination to fight jointly against ISIL/DAESH and Al-Nusra and to separate from them armed opposition groups;

Express their conviction that there is an urgent necessity to step up efforts to jumpstart the negotiation process in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution 2254;

Emphasize that the International Meeting on Syria in Astana is an effective platform for a direct dialogue between the government and the opposition as required by the UN Security Council resolution 2254;

Support the willingness of the armed opposition groups to participate in the next round of negotiations to be held between the government and the opposition under the UN auspices in Geneva as of February 8, 2017;

Urge all members of the international community to support the political process with a view to swiftly implementing all steps agreed on the UN Security Council resolution 2254;

Decide to actively cooperate on the Astana platform on specific issues of the UN-facilitated Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process so as to contribute to global efforts to implement the UN Security Council resolution 2254;

Express gratitude to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev, and to the Kazakh side in general, for hosting the International Meeting on Syria in Astana.

Monday, January 23, 2017

This is a book that want's you to believe this type of manipulation is all in the past.To say it’s in the past is yet more media obfuscation. It's not in the past at all! The CIA manipulates your perception via the media. All forms of it. And there are more venues for manipulation now then ever!
Books, Magazines, Tell a vision. Radio. Facebook. Twitter. Etc.,

Manipulation via the media- all forms of it has never ended. Including in book reviews, such as this one- where the book reviewer desperately employs the guilt by association logical fallacy to involve Russia. This book is not about Russia. It’s about cultural deceptions/manipulations the CIA used in the past. Present day manipulations, such as the pussy hats march, aren't addressed.

“Joel Whitney, in his new book about America’s own insidious control of domestic and foreign journalism, identifies as “the traditional adversarial role of media, a role that at least theoretically checked government power and guarded against overreach.” But what Whitney’s Finks makes astonishingly, harrowingly clear is that such affronts are a matter of course in the United States as well, where intellectuals, editors and self-styled belletrists were employed as CIA stooges during the Cold War. (And still today) Sometimes they have had plausible deniability. But in many more cases, they collaborated all too willingly”

As a central study, Whitney looks in depth at the history of The Paris Review. The quarterly literary magazine was founded in Paris in 1953 by George Plimpton, Harold L. Humes and Peter Matthiessen, an undercover CIA agent. As described by Whitney, such highbrow magazines were devised as part of a larger government initiative to trump up U.S. culture during the Cold War

As he puts it, “Many policymakers felt that Western Europeans were being softened to the horror of Communism thanks to towering Soviet and Russian cultural achievements. Americans, in a word, needed to become boosters of their high culture.”

High Culture? Or degraded culture?Judging by the Pussy hats, Pussy Riot, Gloria Steinam, Hugh Hefner an over abundace of No Good Organizations- Obfuscating media- including so called edgy stuff like "Vice", the answer would be degraded, profiteering/war making culture

Enter the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an anti-Soviet arts advocacy group underwritten by the CIA. The CCF toured the Boston Symphony Orchestra around Europe and funded abstract expressionist art exhibitions. As Whitney writes of the CIA’s covert funding of seemingly liberal, abstract art, “the paint splashes of Jackson Pollock did not lend themselves to a Marxist or anti-imperialist narrative.”

Jackson Pollocks: “Art”? More like an offence to the senses. As was intended.“meant to be the unmitigated will of a human being, blasted onto a canvas " Really? Perhaps if you’re a human mess?

Reports from former agents acknowledge what was always a tall tale in
the art world—that CIA spooks floated pioneering artists like Jackson
Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Robert Motherwell, to drop an aesthetic
nuke on Communism. What seemed like natural popularity of certain
artists was, in part, actually a deliberate attempt at psychological
warfare, backed by the US government.

Finks Review Continues...

Where older conservatives might balk at funding and promoting works of art comprised of dribbles and streaks of paint, the CIA and the CCF adopted a more nuanced, “keep your enemies closer” approach. A lighter, diet-pop version of Western-sponsored socialism was ultimately preferable to the looming spectre of whole-hog Sovietism.

When the CIA wasn’t endowing would-be cultural combatants, they were keeping a chary watch of them. Paris Review editor Peter Matthiessen was tasked with spying on American expats living in the French capital.

CIA appendages also underwrote (still do to this day) Hollywood films that were censored and rewritten to prune out seemingly anti-U.S. themes – the legendary director John Ford proved a willing collaborator,requesting government propaganda booklets in order to better express the CIA’s cultural mission of “militant liberty.”

Even George Orwell, one of the 20th century’s savviest political writers and outspoken critics of authority, found himself the punchline of a bad CIA joke when the 1954 film adaptation of Animal Farm was revised to serve the Cold War agenda.

Where Orwell’s story ends on a melancholic idea that the capitalists (the humans) and communists (the animals) were ideologically indistinguishable from each other, the movie made the animals seem the clear villains, flattening Orwell’s original satire into plain ol’ pro-capitalist, pro-U.S. propaganda.

Indeed, there’s a depressingly Orwellian tenor to many of the revelations packed into Finks, from doublespeakish concepts such as “militant liberty” to the grander, and seemingly paradoxical, program of “fostering cultural freedom through routine acts of censorship.” Impressive in scope, depth and its marshalling of declassified documents, Whitney’s book proves that sophisticated cultural propaganda campaigns are by no means the exclusive province of looming totalitarian regimes. Finks also offers a reminder that it’s not one or another government, but the totality of government power itself that proves illegitimate – even if some forms of power seem more illegitimate than others.

You can also read about this type of manipulative activity in the Mighty Wurlitzer- How the CIA Manipulated America This is one of many books
that sit in my home library- read it years ago- likely mentioned here at
the blog at that timeYou might also be interested in this Gnostic Media Presentation?

Yup, I was reading the Mighty Wurlitzer at that time!

Now I am just getting started on the perfect companion book to Laurel Canyon, other then Dave's previous book Programmed to Kill, which by the way is also great. Difficult, but great. The other perfect companion to both these books is 'The Mighty Wurlitzer" Which, as mentioned, I am now reading Phew!

Think about this?

War is .....

WAR IS THE CONTINUATION OF STATE POLICY, BY OTHER MEANS

WAR IS A POLITICAL ACTIVITY IN WHICH VIOLENCE IS USED TO BEND THE WILL OF YOUR ENEMY TO THAT OF YOUR OWN

Stop being Manipulated by the Elites

For if you [the rulers] suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves [outlaws] and then punish them.´ - Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)

Resource: Ukraine Military Marker

How your brain works

“‘Each thought and behavior is embedded within the circuitry of the neurons, and…neuronal activity accompanying or initiating an experience persists in the form of reverberating neuronal circuits, which become more strongly defined with repetition”

Richard Restak

Unshackle YOUR mind

'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed'- Steve Biko

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Edward Bernays: Perception Management it is a Reality

"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society,"

"Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. . . . In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons . . . who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind."

About Me

This blog is a place to not only post information that will never see the light of day on the mainstream media, but, also to present alternative perspectives to main stream media information, that most often presents no background, no context, and never questions the information presented.
The name I chose, Penny for your thoughts, is an invitation to readers to share their relevant thoughts on the varying information.